refactor(tui): clarify searchable select list width layout (#16378)

Merged via /review-pr -> /prepare-pr -> /merge-pr.

Prepared head SHA: fecbade822
Co-authored-by: steipete <58493+steipete@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: steipete <58493+steipete@users.noreply.github.com>
Reviewed-by: @steipete

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 - Security/BlueBubbles: require explicit `mediaLocalRoots` allowlists for local outbound media path reads to prevent local file disclosure. (#16322) Thanks @mbelinky.
 - Cron/Slack: preserve agent identity (name and icon) when cron jobs deliver outbound messages. (#16242) Thanks @robbyczgw-cla.
 - Discord: prefer gateway guild id when logging inbound messages so cached-miss guilds do not appear as `guild=dm`. Thanks @thewilloftheshadow.
+- TUI: refactor searchable select list description layout and add regression coverage for ANSI-highlight width bounds.
 
 ## 2026.2.14
 

src/browser/server.control-server.test-harness.ts

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import { type AddressInfo, createServer } from "node:net";
 import os from "node:os";
 import path from "node:path";
 import { afterAll, afterEach, beforeAll, beforeEach, vi } from "vitest";
+import type { MockFn } from "../test-utils/vitest-mock-fn.js";
 
 type HarnessState = {
   testPort: number;
@@ -22,23 +23,23 @@ const state: HarnessState = {
   prevGatewayPort: undefined,
 };
 
-export function getBrowserControlServerTestState() {
+export function getBrowserControlServerTestState(): HarnessState {
   return state;
 }
 
-export function getBrowserControlServerBaseUrl() {
+export function getBrowserControlServerBaseUrl(): string {
   return `http://127.0.0.1:${state.testPort}`;
 }
 
-export function setBrowserControlServerCreateTargetId(targetId: string | null) {
+export function setBrowserControlServerCreateTargetId(targetId: string | null): void {
   state.createTargetId = targetId;
 }
 
-export function setBrowserControlServerAttachOnly(attachOnly: boolean) {
+export function setBrowserControlServerAttachOnly(attachOnly: boolean): void {
   state.cfgAttachOnly = attachOnly;
 }
 
-export function setBrowserControlServerReachable(reachable: boolean) {
+export function setBrowserControlServerReachable(reachable: boolean): void {
   state.reachable = reachable;
 }
 
@@ -51,8 +52,8 @@ const cdpMocks = vi.hoisted(() => ({
   })),
 }));
 
-export function getCdpMocks() {
+export function getCdpMocks(): { createTargetViaCdp: MockFn; snapshotAria: MockFn } {
-  return cdpMocks;
+  return cdpMocks as unknown as { createTargetViaCdp: MockFn; snapshotAria: MockFn };
 }
 
 const pwMocks = vi.hoisted(() => ({
@@ -97,8 +98,8 @@ const pwMocks = vi.hoisted(() => ({
   waitForViaPlaywright: vi.fn(async () => {}),
 }));
 
-export function getPwMocks() {
+export function getPwMocks(): Record<string, MockFn> {
-  return pwMocks;
+  return pwMocks as unknown as Record<string, MockFn>;
 }
 
 const chromeUserDataDir = vi.hoisted(() => ({ dir: "/tmp/openclaw" }));

src/commands/doctor.e2e-harness.ts

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import fs from "node:fs";
 import os from "node:os";
 import path from "node:path";
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, vi } from "vitest";
+import type { MockFn } from "../test-utils/vitest-mock-fn.js";
 
 let originalIsTTY: boolean | undefined;
 let originalStateDir: string | undefined;
@@ -19,40 +20,40 @@ function setStdinTty(value: boolean | undefined) {
   }
 }
 
-export const readConfigFileSnapshot: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn> = vi.fn();
+export const readConfigFileSnapshot = vi.fn() as unknown as MockFn;
-export const confirm: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn> = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(true);
+export const confirm = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(true) as unknown as MockFn;
-export const select: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn> = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue("node");
+export const select = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue("node") as unknown as MockFn;
-export const note: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn> = vi.fn();
+export const note = vi.fn() as unknown as MockFn;
-export const writeConfigFile: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn> = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined);
+export const writeConfigFile = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined) as unknown as MockFn;
-export const resolveOpenClawPackageRoot: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn> = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(null);
+export const resolveOpenClawPackageRoot = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(null) as unknown as MockFn;
-export const runGatewayUpdate: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn> = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({
+export const runGatewayUpdate = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({
   status: "skipped",
   mode: "unknown",
   steps: [],
   durationMs: 0,
-});
+}) as unknown as MockFn;
-export const migrateLegacyConfig: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn> = vi.fn((raw: unknown) => ({
+export const migrateLegacyConfig = vi.fn((raw: unknown) => ({
   config: raw as Record<string, unknown>,
   changes: ["Moved routing.allowFrom → channels.whatsapp.allowFrom."],
-}));
+})) as unknown as MockFn;
 
-export const runExec: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn> = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({
+export const runExec = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({
   stdout: "",
   stderr: "",
-});
+}) as unknown as MockFn;
-export const runCommandWithTimeout: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn> = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({
+export const runCommandWithTimeout = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({
   stdout: "",
   stderr: "",
   code: 0,
   signal: null,
   killed: false,
-});
+}) as unknown as MockFn;
 
-export const ensureAuthProfileStore: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn> = vi
+export const ensureAuthProfileStore = vi
   .fn()
-  .mockReturnValue({ version: 1, profiles: {} });
+  .mockReturnValue({ version: 1, profiles: {} }) as unknown as MockFn;
 
-export const legacyReadConfigFileSnapshot: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn> = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({
+export const legacyReadConfigFileSnapshot = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({
   path: "/tmp/openclaw.json",
   exists: false,
   raw: null,
@@ -61,30 +62,28 @@ export const legacyReadConfigFileSnapshot: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn> = vi.fn().mo
   config: {},
   issues: [],
   legacyIssues: [],
-});
+}) as unknown as MockFn;
-export const createConfigIO: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn> = vi.fn(() => ({
+export const createConfigIO = vi.fn(() => ({
   readConfigFileSnapshot: legacyReadConfigFileSnapshot,
-}));
+})) as unknown as MockFn;
 
-export const findLegacyGatewayServices: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn> = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue([]);
+export const findLegacyGatewayServices = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue([]) as unknown as MockFn;
-export const uninstallLegacyGatewayServices: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn> = vi
+export const uninstallLegacyGatewayServices = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue([]) as unknown as MockFn;
+export const findExtraGatewayServices = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue([]) as unknown as MockFn;
+export const renderGatewayServiceCleanupHints = vi
   .fn()
-  .mockResolvedValue([]);
+  .mockReturnValue(["cleanup"]) as unknown as MockFn;
-export const findExtraGatewayServices: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn> = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue([]);
+export const resolveGatewayProgramArguments = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({
-export const renderGatewayServiceCleanupHints: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn> = vi
-  .fn()
-  .mockReturnValue(["cleanup"]);
-export const resolveGatewayProgramArguments: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn> = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({
   programArguments: ["node", "cli", "gateway", "--port", "18789"],
-});
+}) as unknown as MockFn;
-export const serviceInstall: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn> = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined);
+export const serviceInstall = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined) as unknown as MockFn;
-export const serviceIsLoaded: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn> = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(false);
+export const serviceIsLoaded = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(false) as unknown as MockFn;
-export const serviceStop: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn> = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined);
+export const serviceStop = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined) as unknown as MockFn;
-export const serviceRestart: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn> = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined);
+export const serviceRestart = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined) as unknown as MockFn;
-export const serviceUninstall: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn> = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined);
+export const serviceUninstall = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined) as unknown as MockFn;
-export const callGateway: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn> = vi
+export const callGateway = vi
   .fn()
-  .mockRejectedValue(new Error("gateway closed"));
+  .mockRejectedValue(new Error("gateway closed")) as unknown as MockFn;
 
 vi.mock("@clack/prompts", () => ({
   confirm,

src/telegram/bot.create-telegram-bot.test-harness.ts

@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
-import { beforeEach, vi, type Mock } from "vitest";
+import { beforeEach, vi } from "vitest";
+import type { MockFn } from "../test-utils/vitest-mock-fn.js";
 import { resetInboundDedupe } from "../auto-reply/reply/inbound-dedupe.js";
 
-type AnyMock = Mock<(...args: unknown[]) => unknown>;
+type AnyMock = MockFn<(...args: unknown[]) => unknown>;
-type AnyAsyncMock = Mock<(...args: unknown[]) => Promise<unknown>>;
+type AnyAsyncMock = MockFn<(...args: unknown[]) => Promise<unknown>>;
+
 type ReplyOpts =
   | {
       onReplyStart?: () => void | Promise<void>;
@@ -74,12 +76,12 @@ vi.mock("../pairing/pairing-store.js", () => ({
   upsertChannelPairingRequest,
 }));
 
-export const useSpy: Mock<(arg: unknown) => void> = vi.fn();
+export const useSpy: MockFn<(arg: unknown) => void> = vi.fn();
-export const middlewareUseSpy: Mock<(...args: unknown[]) => unknown> = vi.fn();
+export const middlewareUseSpy: AnyMock = vi.fn();
-export const onSpy: Mock<(...args: unknown[]) => unknown> = vi.fn();
+export const onSpy: AnyMock = vi.fn();
-export const stopSpy: Mock<(...args: unknown[]) => unknown> = vi.fn();
+export const stopSpy: AnyMock = vi.fn();
-export const commandSpy: Mock<(...args: unknown[]) => unknown> = vi.fn();
+export const commandSpy: AnyMock = vi.fn();
-export const botCtorSpy: Mock<(...args: unknown[]) => unknown> = vi.fn();
+export const botCtorSpy: AnyMock = vi.fn();
 export const answerCallbackQuerySpy: AnyAsyncMock = vi.fn(async () => undefined);
 export const sendChatActionSpy: AnyMock = vi.fn();
 export const setMessageReactionSpy: AnyAsyncMock = vi.fn(async () => undefined);
@@ -154,7 +156,7 @@ vi.mock("@grammyjs/transformer-throttler", () => ({
   apiThrottler: () => throttlerSpy(),
 }));
 
-export const replySpy: Mock<(ctx: unknown, opts?: ReplyOpts) => Promise<void>> = vi.fn(
+export const replySpy: MockFn<(ctx: unknown, opts?: ReplyOpts) => Promise<void>> = vi.fn(
   async (_ctx, opts) => {
     await opts?.onReplyStart?.();
     return undefined;

src/test-utils/vitest-mock-fn.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+// Centralized Vitest mock type for harness modules under `src/`.
+// Using an explicit named type avoids exporting inferred `vi.fn()` types that can trip TS2742.
+//
+// oxlint-disable-next-line typescript/no-explicit-any
+export type MockFn<T extends (...args: any[]) => any = (...args: any[]) => any> =
+  import("vitest").Mock<T>;

src/tui/components/searchable-select-list.test.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { visibleWidth } from "../../terminal/ansi.js";
 import { SearchableSelectList, type SearchableSelectListTheme } from "./searchable-select-list.js";
 
 const mockTheme: SearchableSelectListTheme = {
@@ -48,6 +49,60 @@ describe("SearchableSelectList", () => {
     expect(output).toContain(tail);
   });
 
+  it("does not show description layout at width 40 (boundary)", () => {
+    const items = [
+      { value: "one", label: "one", description: "desc" },
+      { value: "two", label: "two", description: "desc" },
+    ];
+    const list = new SearchableSelectList(items, 5, mockTheme);
+    list.setSelectedIndex(1); // ensure first row is not selected so description styling is applied
+
+    const output = list.render(40).join("\n");
+    expect(output).not.toContain("(desc)");
+  });
+
+  it("shows description layout at width 41 (boundary)", () => {
+    const items = [
+      { value: "one", label: "one", description: "desc" },
+      { value: "two", label: "two", description: "desc" },
+    ];
+    const list = new SearchableSelectList(items, 5, mockTheme);
+    list.setSelectedIndex(1); // ensure first row is not selected so description styling is applied
+
+    const output = list.render(41).join("\n");
+    expect(output).toContain("(desc)");
+  });
+
+  it("keeps ANSI-highlighted description rows within terminal width", () => {
+    const ansiTheme: SearchableSelectListTheme = {
+      selectedPrefix: (t) => t,
+      selectedText: (t) => t,
+      description: (t) => t,
+      scrollInfo: (t) => t,
+      noMatch: (t) => t,
+      searchPrompt: (t) => t,
+      searchInput: (t) => t,
+      matchHighlight: (t) => `\u001b[31m${t}\u001b[0m`,
+    };
+    const label = `provider/${"x".repeat(80)}`;
+    const items = [
+      { value: label, label, description: "Some description text that should not overflow" },
+      { value: "other", label: "other", description: "Other description" },
+    ];
+    const list = new SearchableSelectList(items, 5, ansiTheme);
+    list.setSelectedIndex(1); // make first row non-selected so description styling is applied
+
+    for (const ch of "provider") {
+      list.handleInput(ch);
+    }
+
+    const width = 80;
+    const output = list.render(width);
+    for (const line of output) {
+      expect(visibleWidth(line)).toBeLessThanOrEqual(width);
+    }
+  });
+
   it("filters items when typing", () => {
     const list = new SearchableSelectList(testItems, 5, mockTheme);
 

src/tui/components/searchable-select-list.ts

@@ -33,6 +33,12 @@ export class SearchableSelectList implements Component {
   onCancel?: () => void;
   onSelectionChange?: (item: SelectItem) => void;
 
+  private static readonly DESCRIPTION_LAYOUT_MIN_WIDTH = 40;
+  private static readonly DESCRIPTION_MIN_WIDTH = 12;
+  private static readonly DESCRIPTION_SPACING_WIDTH = 2;
+  // Keep a small right margin so we don't risk wrapping due to styling/terminal quirks.
+  private static readonly RIGHT_MARGIN_WIDTH = 2;
+
   constructor(items: SelectItem[], maxVisible: number, theme: SearchableSelectListTheme) {
     this.items = items;
     this.filteredItems = items;
@@ -218,23 +224,20 @@ export class SearchableSelectList implements Component {
     const prefixWidth = prefix.length;
     const displayValue = this.getItemLabel(item);
 
-    if (item.description && width > 40) {
+    const description = item.description;
-      const minDescriptionWidth = 12;
+    if (description) {
-      const spacingWidth = 2;
+      const descriptionLayout = this.getDescriptionLayout(width, prefixWidth);
-      const availableWidth = Math.max(1, width - prefixWidth - 2);
+      if (descriptionLayout) {
-
+        const truncatedValue = truncateToWidth(displayValue, descriptionLayout.maxValueWidth, "");
-      if (availableWidth > minDescriptionWidth + spacingWidth + 1) {
-        const maxValueWidth = availableWidth - minDescriptionWidth - spacingWidth;
-        const truncatedValue = truncateToWidth(displayValue, maxValueWidth, "");
         const valueText = this.highlightMatch(truncatedValue, query);
 
         const usedByValue = visibleWidth(valueText);
-        const remainingWidth = availableWidth - usedByValue;
+        const remainingWidth = descriptionLayout.availableWidth - usedByValue;
+        const descriptionWidth = remainingWidth - descriptionLayout.spacingWidth;
 
-        if (remainingWidth > spacingWidth + 1) {
+        if (descriptionWidth >= SearchableSelectList.DESCRIPTION_MIN_WIDTH) {
-          const descriptionWidth = remainingWidth - spacingWidth;
+          const spacing = " ".repeat(descriptionLayout.spacingWidth);
-          const spacing = " ".repeat(spacingWidth);
+          const truncatedDesc = truncateToWidth(description, descriptionWidth, "");
-          const truncatedDesc = truncateToWidth(item.description, descriptionWidth, "");
           // Highlight plain text first, then apply theme styling to avoid corrupting ANSI codes
           const highlightedDesc = this.highlightMatch(truncatedDesc, query);
           const descText = isSelected ? highlightedDesc : this.theme.description(highlightedDesc);
@@ -251,6 +254,34 @@ export class SearchableSelectList implements Component {
     return isSelected ? this.theme.selectedText(line) : line;
   }
 
+  private getDescriptionLayout(
+    width: number,
+    prefixWidth: number,
+  ): { availableWidth: number; maxValueWidth: number; spacingWidth: number } | null {
+    if (width <= SearchableSelectList.DESCRIPTION_LAYOUT_MIN_WIDTH) {
+      return null;
+    }
+
+    const availableWidth = Math.max(
+      1,
+      width - prefixWidth - SearchableSelectList.RIGHT_MARGIN_WIDTH,
+    );
+    const maxValueWidth =
+      availableWidth -
+      SearchableSelectList.DESCRIPTION_MIN_WIDTH -
+      SearchableSelectList.DESCRIPTION_SPACING_WIDTH;
+
+    if (maxValueWidth < 1) {
+      return null;
+    }
+
+    return {
+      availableWidth,
+      maxValueWidth,
+      spacingWidth: SearchableSelectList.DESCRIPTION_SPACING_WIDTH,
+    };
+  }
+
   handleInput(keyData: string): void {
     if (isKeyRelease(keyData)) {
       return;